WESTERN Australian Born and Bred is the theme of the ninth edition of the City of Joondalup’s fashion program Urban Couture, from April 13 to May 10.
This year’s ambassador will be Perth-born international designer Kym Ellery, whose luxury womenswear label Ellery was “born in Australia, made in Italy and based in Paris”.
Ellery grew up in North Beach and as a child spent her time dreaming of creating a fashion brand.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWShe then left home at 18, going on to study at Central Saint Martins in London.
With an artist mother, Ellery developed an eye for volume, colour and style, and in 2007 founded her brand while being an editor for Australian fashion magazine Russh.
Making garments at that time started as a hobby, but the positive response to her first collection was undeniable.
Celebrated for her structured designs and her vision of the modern woman, the Ellery brand is now one of the three Australian labels officially recognised by the Paris Fashion Council.
Ellery said being the Urban Couture ambassador was an honour and a heart-warming invitation back home.
“Fashion always looks towards the future and to be able to exchange and share my experience with the new designers is an amazing opportunity,” she said.
“The fact we all come from Perth is just a bonus.”
Ellery will host a Steps to Success masterclass where she will talk of how she built her brand and draping workshops for students to turn fabric and paper into bespoke garments.
This year’s program will celebrate all things West Australian, showcasing the talents of local, established and emerging designers.
Each week will focus on a different element of the WA fashion industry: designer featuring Kym Ellery (April 13-19), sustainable fashion (April 20-26), style (April 27-May 3) and theatre and costume (May 4-10).
The City has also partnered with the City of Mandurah to bring its Wearable Art exhibition to Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City for the four weeks.
Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said the City was proud to carry on the tradition Urban Couture has built for almost a decade supporting the West Australian fashion industry.
“With some of WA’s biggest and most popular retail spaces, Joondalup has become a destination for fashion,” he said.
“This has coincided with Urban Couture bringing emerging fashion designers, photographers, textile artists and creative business entrepreneurs to the northern corridor.
“This year’s theme shifts the focus of the program to local fashion and costume designers, and we are thrilled to see a Perth-raised internationally-recognised talent in Kym Ellery coming on board as the program ambassador.”
To register for events, visit www.joondalup.wa.gov.au.